


You Must Have Danced

by doctorhelena



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Steggy Positivity Week 2017, Steggy Positivity Week 2018, tumblr ficlets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-11-10 08:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11123808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorhelena/pseuds/doctorhelena
Summary: A collection of Steggy ficlets from Tumblr.





	1. Fighting Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for Steggy Week 2K17 (Day 3: Firsts).

 “I think I’m getting somewhere with Agent Carter,” Hodge bragged, shoveling potatoes into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in days. “That dame plays hard to get, but she’s definitely warming up to me.”

“Warming up to you in the sense that she hasn’t knocked you out in the past week?” asked Morrison, whacking Hodge on the shoulder and chortling. At the next table, Steve grinned to himself, taking a bite of the unidentifiable meat-based substance that had been served along with the potatoes.

“I saw that smirk, Rogers,” snapped Hodge. “I don’t think you have anything to laugh about, pipsqueak. If she keeps turning me down, she sure as hell isn’t going to go for you.”

Steve swallowed his bite of meat. “I didn’t say she was. I just don’t think you’re going to wear her down.” He shrugged. “I don’t think bullies are really her type.”

Hodge raised his eyebrows. “I thought you’d learned a lesson about insulting your superiors the other day behind the barracks, Tiny. You want to go again?”

Steve pushed his chair back and stood up. “Sure thing.”

Morrison sighed. “Use your brains, Hodge. If you beat him up any worse than you did Tuesday, you probably won’t be kicked out of the army, but guaranteed you’re not getting picked for Rebirth.”

Hodge shook him off. “I won’t break him. Just knock him around a bit.” He gestured to Steve. “Coming, hot shot?” Steve followed. Hodge was in for a bit of a surprise. He hoped.

They were headed for the same flat patch of ground behind the mess hall that Agent Carter had brought him to after she’d heard about the last fight. “You have to stay cool,” she’d told him, her voice low, almost intimate, in the darkness. “Watch for your openings, and use his own strength against him.”

She’d showed him what she meant, let him try it on her, drilled him until he could feel it click in his brain. Bucky had given him fighting tips too, but Bucky was a lot bigger than he was. Agent Carter wasn’t much taller or heavier than Steve, and she’d knocked out Hodge with one punch.

“Of course,” she’d cautioned, gulping down water as they took a quick break, “I had the element of surprise with Hodge. But the principle is the same. Stay low, stay focused, and fight dirty. Not only is it effective, but it makes them angry, and then they get sloppy.” She’d smiled at him, set down her canteen, and squared off again. “I have faith in you, Private.”

Now, Hodge didn’t wait for the interested group that had trailed out behind them to catch up. He just turned on his heel and swung at Steve without warning, grunting as Steve ducked under his arm and kicked his heel out from under him while he was still off balance. Hodge went down hard, and Steve stepped back. “Had enough?”

Hodge growled and scrambled back to his feet. Steve could hear Agent Carter’s calm instructions in his ear as he launched back into the fight. It was going far better than any of his fights ever had before, and he could hear the interested murmur of the crowd as they took in his improved performance. His lungs were the same as always, though, and he was starting to wheeze. “Having some trouble, Hodge?” he taunted, panting. “What’s the matter, arm too tired from punching people smaller than you?”

As Steve had hoped, Hodge gave another roar and flung a sloppy right hook straight at his head. Steve ducked under his arm and came back with a hard uppercut to the liver. Hodge went down like a sack of potatoes, and Steve grinned. It was exactly what Peggy had told him would happen.

“You’re a quick study,” she’d said, straightening her uniform and brushing herself off. “I can’t recommend getting into fights with your fellow recruits, but I rather think you’ll hold your own the next time.” She’d grinned. “Sometimes it’s a pleasure to teach a bully a lesson. And Hodge is the type of person who usually needs several lessons before he gives up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he’d said, grinning back as he brushed dirt off his own uniform. Their eyes had met and held, and suddenly he’d felt utterly tongue tied. “Thank you,” he’d said, finally.

She’d cleared her throat, but hadn’t looked away. “Well, I suppose that’s that. It wouldn’t do to be found together behind the mess hall in the dark, out of breath, with twigs in our hair.”

He’d been glad of the darkness. “What would happen if we were?” he’d managed to ask.

“Well, there’s a certain blind eye turned towards relationships between male and female army personnel,” she’d said, “but as I’m currently in charge of training you, any interaction of that sort would be highly inappropriate. I’m afraid both of us would be subject to disciplinary proceedings.” Maybe it was his imagination, but he’d thought she’d sounded regretful.

He’d swallowed. “Oh.”

She’d cleared her throat again and finally broken his gaze. “Well. I’ll see you tomorrow, 0600 hours on the field, soldier.”

He’d felt more on solid ground. “Yes, ma’am.”

She’d started to walk away, then turned back. “Peggy,” she’d said firmly. The corner of her mouth had turned up into a smile. “Although one has to be careful of appearances, there is actually no regulation that says we can’t be friends.”

Now, Hodge took quite a while getting to his feet, and it was clear from the murmurs of the crowd around them that Steve had won. Hodge grunted. “You might have got in a lucky punch, pipsqueak, but I have never not gotten the girl in the end. You wait and see.” He turned on his heel.

“First time for everything,” said Steve, mildly.


	2. Slippery Slope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for Steggy Week 2K17 (Day 7: Free for all!)

The view from the top of the hill was beautiful, the army base softened by a layer of white and half-hidden behind trees. Below them was a smooth blanket of untouched powder over a solid sheet of ice. “Count of three?” asked Dum Dum, and they lined up, like kids in the park, giddy with anticipation.

Morita cleared his throat. “On your mark, get set, GO!”

A vibranium shield made a much faster sled than a stainless steel mess hall tray, but the trays were considerably easier to steer. Steve spun precariously down the hill, nearly ending up in the underbrush several times before crossing the finish line barely ahead of Gabe and Bucky.

He tumbled deliberately into the snow to avoid sliding too far into the camp, snagging his shield as he rolled. “I want the shield this time,” said Bucky, scrambling to his feet. “If history has taught us anything, it’s that you shouldn’t ride on anything that spins you around too much.”

Steve grinned and exchanged his shield for Bucky’s tray, already climbing the hill again. The sound of a throat clearing behind him made him stop short and spin around. “Oh, hi Peggy.”

Her arms were crossed and one of her eyebrows was up near her hairline. “Improper use of government property, unnecessarily risking injury in a non-combat situation, and you do realize people have to eat off those trays.”

“Yep!” said Dum Dum, cheerfully, climbing past them. “Wanna join?”

Peggy grinned. “I suppose I can spare a few minutes to show you gentlemen how it’s done.” She took the tray Morita offered her and began climbing the hill after Dum Dum. Steve followed, feeling a little guilty about enjoying the view this afforded him, although not guilty enough to look away entirely.

They lined up at the top again, and Falsworth gave the start signal. Bucky took an early lead but lost control at the turn and shot into the underbrush. “Oh, is _that_ how it’s done?” called Steve cheerfully, shooting past him on his tray.

The others were neck in neck until Peggy took the turn at a perilously sharp angle that only worked because she was considerably lighter than the rest of them. “No fair, Peg!” called Dum Dum with a grin, just as Steve hit a patch of bare ice and shot forward directly into her.

“Rogers, you have an annoying habit of knocking me over just as I’m about to accomplish something,” she grumbled as they tumbled down the rest of the hill together, finally coming to a rest in a tangled heap at the bottom, half-buried in snow.

“Sorry,” he said into her armpit. “I’ll work on that.” Her body was warm against his, and he could feel her breathing, hear the rapid beat of her heart. Neither of them moved for a long moment, although he could hear the rest of the Commandos arriving at the bottom of the hill behind them.

Finally she gave a little shove at his chest. “Give me some breathing space, you big ape.” He pushed himself up and she grinned at him, her cheeks rosy with the cold, their breath swirling in frosty puffs between them. “You know, next time instead of tackling me, you could try just asking me for a hug.”

He grinned back, and then swallowed suddenly as their eyes met and the familiar spark flickered between them, closer and closer to igniting every time. He could hear her breath catch, and then the moment was gone as they were overrun by the Commandos, wolf whistling and teasing and helping them to their feet.

“So,” said Bucky, “Do we call that a tie, or do we need a rematch?”

Peggy raised an eyebrow. “I was clearly winning before Captain Rogers made his ill-fated attempt at forcing me from the race. But if you need proof, I’m more than happy to repeat my victory.”

“You’re on!” said Dum Dum gleefully, and they scrambled up the hill again.

“Are you ready, Captain?” asked Peggy, looking behind her and waiting for him to catch up.

He was, he thought. He was ready.


	3. Belarusian Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for Steggy Week 2K17 (Day 5: Tropes, Kinks, or Clichés).

“Agent Thompson, do you know what the smell of herring in the air means in the middle of a Belarusian summer? … It means there is wind blowing in from the Baltic. It means a snow storm in July, and if you can smell the wind, it means you have 30 minutes to find shelter and build a fire before you die of hypothermia in the morning.”

—Peggy Carter, Agent Carter Season 1: The Iron Ceiling

**********************

It wasn’t that Peggy hadn’t taken the old woman’s warning seriously, it was just that there wasn’t really any shelter to be found, so she hoped the dangers had been somewhat exaggerated. It was hard to believe it was going to snow. The trees were in full green leaf, there were insects, and wildflowers, and the full summer sun overhead. The light breeze blowing in from the northwest was pleasant, and the smell of herring wasn’t strong, just rather incongruous in the middle of the forest.

She and Steve forged on, returning from their scouting expedition. If all went well, they’d be back at camp in an hour.

Fifteen minutes later, they knew they were in trouble. The sky was grey, the temperature had dropped to what certainly felt like below freezing, and the first snowflakes had started to fall, thickening quickly. “We aren’t dressed for this,” she said, already shivering badly. Steve nodded.

“We should build a fire while we can,” he said. “And get the tent up. If that woman was right, we’re not getting back to camp until the storm’s over.”

Peggy’s teeth were chattering. “I suppose this clearing is as good as any.” She moved to gather firewood as Steve cleared a space and began to set up their tiny field tent. She was nearly shivering too hard to open the tinder box and light a match, and the wind was so strong that it blew the fire out three times before she managed to get it going.

The fire warmed her a little, but not nearly enough. She held her toes as close to the flames as she dared. It was snowing harder now, with damp, heavy flakes, and the wind was picking up considerably. Pellets of ice stung at her cheeks.

“You’re still cold,” said Steve, coming up close behind her. He hesitated for a second and then wrapped his arms around her.

She pressed into him, shivering violently. “We need to get out of the wind.” Both of their uniforms were wet, and she knew there would be no drying them until the snow stopped. She hesitated. “Do you think we’ll both fit into your sleeping bag?”

Steve looked startled for a second, but then nodded. “Yeah,” he said, considering. “I think we can squeeze in.”

“Well then,” she said, as briskly as she could through her chattering teeth, “I, for one, would prefer to avoid hypothermia.” The snow was falling so thickly that she couldn’t see across the clearing, and the fire was fighting hard to stay alive.

Inside the tiny tent, her fingers were so stiff with cold that Steve had to unfasten her boots and help her with the buttons on her jacket and trousers. This really hadn’t been how she’d pictured him undressing her for the first time, she thought sluggishly as he quickly pulled off his own boots, trousers, and jacket. Her teeth were chattering so hard that she couldn’t speak.

“Here,” Steve said, sounding worried as he unzipped the sleeping bag. They both slid in, and Steve zipped the bag over them again, wrapping himself around her without hesitation. His skin was cold at first, but the serum had made him into a human furnace, and Peggy’s shivering finally slowed and then gradually stopped.

“Better?” he asked, after a while.

“Yes, much, thank you,” she said. “If nothing else, you’re an excellent piece of cold weather survival gear.” She shifted position a little, trying to get comfortable.

Steve sucked in a breath. “Peggy, do you mind not… moving around so much?”

“There was a rock under my shoulder,” she said. “I - oh.” She belatedly realized why he’d asked her to stop moving. Neither of them spoke for a moment, although they were both breathing rather more quickly than they had been.

“Are you - are you sure you’re warm enough?” he finally asked, his voice hoarse. She swallowed.

“I’m quite warm now,” she admitted. He tightened his arms around her and she could feel how fast his heart was beating. “How long do you think the snow will last?” she asked, muffled against his chest.

“I think these summer storms are usually over pretty quickly,” he said. “Like thunderstorms.” He kissed the top of her head, and she drew in a breath.

“If it’s still light when it stops, we might be able to make it back to camp before evening,” she said, and she could feel him nod. Her whole body felt electric, restless, and she clutched at a handful of his shirt. “Steve,” she said, and swallowed.

“What?” he whispered, and her heart was beating as fast as his now.

She craned her neck up and kissed him. He made a muffled sound of surprise, then moved one hand up to the back of her head and pulled her even closer. By the time they came up for air, even her toes were warm.

“Peggy,” he said in a strangled voice.

“I know,” she breathed against his shoulder. “We’ve really done it now.” She buried her face in his neck. “I think there’s only so much the SSR can ask of us,” she said after a moment.

“Honestly,” he said, “I think this is really none of the SSR’s business.” He stroked the back of her neck with his thumb and she arched back into him, so warm now that it was hard to believe how cold she’d been not fifteen minutes earlier.

“At any rate,” she breathed, “in a situation like this, it’s practically our duty to use any method of body heat generation we have at our disposal.”

“Do you really think so?” he asked, tilting his head thoughtfully.

She grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt. “Shut up and kiss me, Rogers.”

Summer snow in Belarus, she mused, could actually be quite pleasant, if you approached it with the proper attitude.


	4. Package

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written for Steggy Week 2K17 (Day 1: Agent Carter Timeline). It takes place during the Agent Carter Season 1 episode “The Blitzkrieg Button”, and uses several lines of dialogue from the episode. Obviously I didn’t write those.

“Ah, my favourite foreigners,” said Howard cheerfully, straightening up from his pool table, as Peggy and Jarvis slid open the door to the boxcar. “Did Mr. Mink have his minions blackmail you?”

“Indeed, sir,” said Jarvis.

“You certainly know how to pick your partners,” Peggy added, drily.

“Well, Mr. Mink is a black-market smuggler, sure, but he got me back into the country, and he’s predictable in his greed. I like predictable, and I like greedy.” In one smooth motion, Howard reached down and pitched the cue ball directly at Peggy’s head. She automatically leaned to the side and glanced behind her in time to see the last of Mr. Mink’s minions hitting the floor, out cold from a billiard ball to the head.

Howard sighed. “And I was so close to running the table.” He perked up. “Oh, Peg, got a surprise for you.” She raised an inquiring eyebrow, and Howard grinned and knocked on what Peggy had assumed was the door to the toilet, or possibly a bedroom. “Come on out, pal.”

The door opened and there, in front of her, was Steve Rogers.

Peggy blinked, then stumbled slightly, Jarvis catching her with a steady hand on her elbow.

“Got a ping on my radar, went up to have a look-see while I was away,” Howard was saying. “Thought the serum might allow him to survive a deep freeze, so I thawed him out in my London lab, and voila!”

She was having a little trouble concentrating. “You - you what?”

Howard grinned again. “Nobody else knows he’s alive. Wanted to give you first dibs before he gets spirited away by Uncle Sam.”

Peggy took an unconscious step towards Steve. “You’re quite late,” she breathed, staring wide-eyed into his face, and he was looking at her exactly as he had in Schmidt’s fortress, the second-last time they’d seen each other.

She sobbed, and he stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. She could hear Mr. Jarvis ushering Howard out of the boxcar, pulling the doors shut to give them a little privacy, but mostly all she could concentrate on was Steve - his smell, the feel of his arms around her, his heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest.

They clung to each other for a long time. “It’s been almost a year,” she sniffed. “I thought -”

I know.” He took a deep breath. “Peggy, I understand if I’m too late for our dance.” His arms tightened around her a little. “It’s just - it’s just really good to see you.”

She drew in a shaky breath. “I still haven’t quite forgiven you for not giving us your coordinates,” she said, into his shirt. “Particularly, since, as it turns out, we could have rescued you almost immediately. However,” she pulled back, and their eyes met. “I’m afraid I have found myself quite unable to move on.”

“Oh,” he said, and then she was kissing him, and he was kissing back, and unlike last time, they had all the time in the world.

*******

Both Howard and Mr. Jarvis were grinning when Peggy and Steve finally slid open the doors. Howard smirked. “You got some lipstick just there, pal.”

Steve shrugged.

Peggy took his hand and squeezed. “Howard, I am never going to complain about you finding Steve. But you’re risking notice from every American intelligence agency by being here. Why didn’t you just call me? I would have come to London. I would have come anywhere.”

Howard nodded. “Let’s get back to my place. We can have some sherry and I’ll explain everything.”

“You do realize that my work colleague Ray Krzeminski was killed while you were away? The SSR blames you, and they’re out for blood. We must assume they’re about to uncover all of your residences, your bank accounts, your corporations. So perhaps turning up unexpectedly was not your best plan.”

“So where can I hide?”

“This boxcar looks comfortable.” She sighed, and dug through her bag. “You’re good at sneaking into ladies-only establishments. Here’s the key to my room at the Griffin. If you get caught, you stole it. You can tell me what the hell is going on tomorrow.”

Jarvis raised an eyebrow. “And where will you be going, Miss Carter?”

“Out for a little fondue with the captain?” put in Howard, eyebrows waggling.

She ignored him, and smiled at Steve. “We’re going dancing.”


	5. Meeting Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knows Peggy and Steve are an item. Except Peggy and Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for Day 6 of Steggy Week 2018 (Tropes and Cliches).

“Agent Carter, you in there?” 

“Yes,” Peggy called out, handing Steve the file he’d come for and turning to the open tent flap.

Dugan and Morita stepped in without waiting for an invitation. “Oh, hey, Cap,” said Dugan, cheerfully, rain dripping from the brim of his hat. “Didn’t know you were here. Sorry.” He didn’t sound particularly sorry.

“It’s all right,” said Peggy, “he was just leaving.” She nodded at the file in Steve’s hands, and looked at Dugan and Morita inquiringly.

“Radio codes,” said Morita. “Phillips said you had them.”

Peggy sighed, and leaned over to rummage through the files on her desk, “Here you are. You can return them tomorrow as well. Briefing at 0800.” She made the mistake of glancing over at Steve, who was watching her with an expression that made her flush suddenly.

Glad of the dim light in the tent, she glanced out into the deluge, the cool air soothing on her hot face. “It’s raining in biblical proportions out there. Keep the files under your jackets, we don’t have extra copies.”

As Morita slid his file under his coat and Steve moved to do the same, Dugan elbowed him. “You don’t have to leave on our account, Cap. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” He grinned. “Maybe close the tent flap next time.”

Steve looked at him oddly. “I really was about to leave.” He held up the file. “Just came for this.”

Morita looked back and forth between Peggy and Steve and raised his eyebrows. “You two do realize you really aren’t fooling anyone, don’t you?”

They both looked at him blankly.

Dugan rolled his eyes. “You can cut the act. Everyone knows. Even Phillips. Says he always coughs loudly whenever he comes around corners, just in case.”

“When the hell did you have a conversation like that with Phillips?” asked Steve, which was rather off the main topic, Peggy thought.

Morita grinned. “It was Stark. He was trying to start a betting pool. Didn’t have many takers, though.”

Peggy stared at him. “I’m going to kill him,” she said, conversationally. “Howard Stark is a dead man.”

Dugan laughed. “Oh, come on, Peg. Everybody sees how you two look at each other. You aren’t exactly subtle.”

“That’s absurd,” she said. “There isn’t a chance Colonel Phillips would keep sending me out in the field with you if he truly believed that Steve and I were romantically involved with each other. It would be completely inappropriate.”

Dugan shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell ya. Guess he cares more about the damage you do to Hydra than about what you might be doing together in your spare time.” He coughed. 

Peggy risked a glance at Steve, who was beet red. “We really aren’t - ” he started to say, and Dugan snorted.

“You’re a terrible liar, Cap.” He grinned and jerked his chin at Morita. “Come on, I think we’re cramping their style.” They left, Dugan conspicuously closing the flap behind them.

Peggy sat down on her bunk and stayed there, head in hands, for quite some time. “Peggy?” Steve asked, finally, tentatively.

She stood up and glared at him. “Bloody hell, Steve. Do you know how hard I’ve worked to - how many times I’ve stopped myself from kissing you? Only to find that everybody thinks we’ve been doing it all along, regardless!”

He was staring at her. “I didn’t realize you cared what people might think. I thought you said it would be foolish to start something while everything is so uncertain.”

“That too,” she conceded, still furious. “But I’ve somehow managed to get ridiculously attached to you anyway. And now everybody thinks I’m - I’m - Captain America’s thinly-veiled mistress!”

He glared at her. “They do not. You heard Dum Dum. Phillips sends you out with us because you do a damn good job. You’ve proved yourself to them, Peggy, long before I even came out of that capsule.” He narrowed his eyes. “And, you know, it isn't all about you. You’re not the only one who’s - ”

She took a step forward, hands on her hips. “Who’s what?”

He narrowed his eyes even further. “Who’s in love. Unless you’re - ”

“Of course I’m in love with you,” she growled. “Bloody Nora, Steve.”

They were still glowering at each other. “And you’re not the only one who’s been having trouble stopping themselves from doing anything about it,” said Steve, frustration rising in his voice. “I know we’re waiting. But it’s not easy for me either.” He made a helpless gesture. “I had to start carrying a file folder with me to briefings, whether I needed it or not, because you keep looking at me like - ”

She took a step towards him. “You should see how you look at me! Sometimes all I can think about is pulling you into a storage cupboard and - ”

“Or backing you up against the map table and - ” 

They glared at each other again, and then Steve started laughing. After a moment, Peggy did too. “All right,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I suppose I see why everybody thinks we - ”

Steve snorted. “If I look at you anything like the way you look at me, they probably think we spend half our time in the storage closet.” He gave her a slow, brilliant smile. “But, you know, there’s a bright side to this.”

She raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged. “Any damage to your reputation is already done, and you haven’t even noticed.” He tucked a loose bit of hair behind her ear. “And honestly, do you think waiting would make it any easier if - if anything happened to one of us?” He took a deep breath. “So there’s really no good reason not to - ”

She stared at him, for a long moment. “You're right.” She swallowed.

He reached up to run his index finger over her bottom lip, sending a shiver through her entire body. “So,” he said, slowly, “should we start living up to our reputation?”

“It would seem that we owe it to everyone, really,” she said, stepping closer and looping her arms around his neck.

The rain outside suddenly seemed rather cozy after all.


End file.
